Interview: Orlando Magic General Manager Otis Smith

NEW YORK — Few NBA general managers attend more of their teams' games and practices, home and away, than Otis Smith of the Orlando Magic. Smith believes that being around the team, its players and its coaches is the best way for a GM to understand the squad he has assembled.

The Orlando Sentinel recently sat down with Smith and asked him to assess the current Magic team. He discussed the club as a whole and two of the team's most pivotal players, small forward Hedo Turkoglu and point guard Jameer Nelson.

Sentinel: When you watch this team play, how do you think it's doing?

Smith: I think we're sometimes not as good as our record indicates and sometimes we're not as bad as our record indicates. There are some things that we've got to do better, obviously. Taking care of the basketball is at the top of that list. That goes hand-in-hand with everything else. I still think some guys can play better. Turk and Jameer are important to what we do. They're going to have to play better.

Sentinel: How do you guys get Turk on track?

Smith: Turk is a "confidence guy." He's one of those guys that his confidence is important to him. So you have to talk to him and get him to believe in himself and show him that you believe in him. I relate it to a golf course. It's a Par 5. You don't hit all 500 yards at once. You've got to get him hitting 200 yards, 200 yards to get to where he wants to go. But he needs to play a little bit better. I think he's aware of that.

Sentinel: Are you seeingmore flashes recently from Jameer? More aggressiveness?

Smith: He's played better in spots. I thought he played OK [the last week]. I didn't think he played great. He played better in spots earlier. He can play a lot better than he's playing and has to play a lot better than he's playing for us to have a chance.

Sentinel: Last time you and I spoke for a Q-and-A like this, back in January in Sacramento, I asked you about Stan Van Gundy and his demeanor on the sideline. He still has not recorded a technical foul this season. Is that gratifying to you considering that he often credits you for prompting him to be less demonstrative?

Smith: I don't know if I'd measure the change by his technical fouls, because sometimes technical fouls are warranted; a coach needs to get a technical foul sometimes. However, with him and his demeanor on the sidelines and his communication with his players and those types of things, I think those are where I see the most improvement in him. I always say, "We kind of are what we are." And so all we can do is fine-tune some things, and that's all we really talk about: just fine-tuning.

Sentinel: For months and months, one of the first things I and reporters like me would ask you about would be Dwight Howard's future. For now, at least, it seems like the focus is on basketball. Is that a relief? Is it refreshing?

Smith: It's about the same. Nothing really changes. You've got to remember I have to forecast beyond what you guys see. It's OK that you guys are shortsighted; so you only see one thing at a time. That's fine. But I have to forecast beyond that. The term "general manager" means something. It means you generally manage all of it. And that's what you kinda have to do. So I think things are going good. I think we're still having to forecast and try to put our team together not only for just this current [season] but moving forward.